


you make me think of sunflowers

by GreenyLove



Series: twitter threads [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Crush at First Sight, First Meetings, Flirting, Flower metaphors, Fluff and Humor, KenmaShipWeek2020, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Texting, video game analogies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:22:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25635739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenyLove/pseuds/GreenyLove
Summary: Black Cat Botanicals is a decent place to work for exactly three weeks, and then Kuroo hires Hinata Shouyou.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma
Series: twitter threads [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1814404
Comments: 22
Kudos: 178
Collections: Kenma Ship Week 2020





	you make me think of sunflowers

**Author's Note:**

> this fic was originally posted as a thread on [twitter](https://twitter.com/greenywrites) as part of Kenma Ship Week 2020 for the day 3 prompt flower shop au! 
> 
> enjoy <3

**kuroo:** hey come work for me this summer 

Kenma pauses his game. 

**kenma:** your proposal is a little lacking 

The incoming reply bubble pops up almost immediately. Kenma expects Kuroo to have a more elaborate argument up his sleeve. The first text is nothing more than an overture to catch his attention. Kenma takes a long drink of water and pauses his screen capture. None of his Let’s Play viewers need to watch Ellie and Dina sit on a horse for however long this conversation takes. Even if the graphics are incredible. 

**kuroo:** we need a shop assistant, little to no physical labor, completely indoors, you work 11-4 weekdays

**kenma:** hnn

**kuroo:** shouldn’t interrupt your gaming schedule 

**kenma:** hnnnnnnnnnnnn

**kuroo:** it’s air conditioned and you can play your switch

**kenma:** how much

**kuroo:** $12/hr 

**kenma:** $17/hr

**kuroo:** sldjfs **  
** **kuroo:** jesus kenma I’m not made of money 

**kenma:** $15/hr and i’ll redesign your hideous logo

**kuroo:** there is nothing wrong with our logo? 

**kenma:** you are a flower farm and your logo has no flowers. nothing remotely floral or related to plants. 

**kuroo:** yeah?   


**kenma:** your logo is a black cat. 

**kuroo:** yeah?   
**kuroo:** the business is called BLACK CAT botanicals 

Kenma puts down his phone. 

Folding his legs up in his chair, he rests his chin on his knees, hair falling around his face. His hoodie smells like butter noodles. He smashes his nose against his kneecap and thinks. 

Fact: his bank account is a little thinner than he wants it to be given how many games occupy his summer wishlist. 

Fact: Working for Kuroo also means working for Kai, which means it won’t be Kenma’s responsibility to remind Kuroo that running a flower farm means more than just playing in the dirt. 

Fact: Kuroo has never deceived him. If he wants Kenma to sit behind a register in a climate controlled room and play games...

There are worse ways to spend a summer. 

His phone chimes. 

**kuroo:** okay, okay god ur a menace  
**kuroo:** I accept your terms. You’re hired. 

**kenma:** kai can hire me. I only work for intellectuals. 

**kuroo:** har har   
**kuroo:** you start Monday 

And that’s how it begins. 

  
  


#

  
  


Black Cat Botanicals is, all things considered, a decent place to work. 

Situated on three acres a few miles outside the city, it’s quiet and clean. The beds are orderly and colorful, some shaded with netting, some staked with bamboo poles up which bright blooms climb towards the sun. 

Kenma doesn’t spend a lot of time near the flowers, because they made his sinuses burn, but he will admit they are nice to look at from the safety and comfort of the shop. 

The day Kuroo and Kai finalized the property sale, Kenma went with them to see the place. He faintly remembers the main building. Dusty, chipped paint, not neglected but certainly not welcoming. Now, the storefront is much improved: the front wall was replaced almost entirely with windows, the floors a polished hardwood, the walls a soothing grey. 

Kenma’s job primarily consists of sitting at the counter and closing out invoices when customers pick up their orders, or ringing up the people who stop in to build their own arrangement from the metal bins of cut flowers on the walls. Kai keeps the store stocked with fresh blooms in between the maintenance of the farm itself, which seems to be Kuroo’s domain. 

As the days creep by Kenma finds himself helping with more administrative tasks, like handling online supply orders when Kai can’t. Kenma stays away from the actual flowers, though, because the smell is overpowering and makes his mouth itch. He likes the ferns and succulents, though, and enjoys misting the small display of air plants. 

His favorite — or at least, the plant he finds the least offensive — is a large, healthy pothos cascading down from a macrame hanging pot next to the register. It creates a curtain of leafy vines that Kenma can sit behind and pretend no one can see him. 

Black Cat Botanicals is a decent place to work for exactly three weeks, and then Kuroo hires Hinata Shouyou.

“We’ve needed someone to help out with the farm for a while,” Kuroo admits one morning as he warns Kenma that there will be a new person running around. “Hinata’s...not exactly experienced with flowers, but I guess his high school volleyball coach has a family farm where he volunteered?” Kuroo shrugs, shoots Kenma a grin as he ties his unruly black hair back with a bandana, preparing for his own morning of physical labor. “Honestly, he has open availability and he’s energetic. I can teach him the rest.” 

Energetic is a word. Energetic is one of many words that could describe Hinata Shouyou.

Kenma would go with loud.

The first time Kenma meets Hinata, it’s early in his shift and the shop is still blissfully empty. Kuroo stands by the window display, fussing over arrangements to advertise their summer public u-pick hours when a loud voice yells, “Kuroo-san! The soaker hose!”

A short, tan, and damp man appears through the back entrance. Hinata Shouyou has bright ginger hair and a friendly face and looks like the kind of person who would have no qualms interrupting a stranger to ask for directions. Kenma inches closer to his emotional support plant. 

“You know the hose is supposed to soak the ground, not you, right?” Kuroo says, dry as ever. 

Hinata laughs and rubs the back of his neck. His legs are soaked from the knee down, bits of wet mulch and dirt stuck to his calves. “I set it up like you showed me but I guess I did something wrong?” 

“It’s fine, I’ll show you again,” Kuroo says, waving Hinata back towards the exit. 

As they’re leaving, Hinata scans the shop curiously and when he sees Kenma, his eyes widen. “Oh! Hi! I’m Hinata!” 

“And that’s Kenma. Move it, shrimpy, I don’t have oodles of free time.” 

Undeterred, Hinata waves cheerfully even as Kuroo shoves him between the shoulders. “Nice to meet you. I like your hoodie!” 

Kenma blinks, looks down at his Chespin pullover. Hinata is gone before he can return his greeting, or ask him if he likes Pokemon, or say anything at all. Not that Kenma minds. He begrudgingly wipes the puddles of water off the floor and goes back to doodling flowers on his iPad. He doesn’t need to make friends.

Some things, though, are out of his control. Kenma learns very quickly that no one can control Hinata. 

The exuberant farmhand is suddenly everywhere — deep in the fields when Kenma arrives, animated even as he hauls 5-gallon buckets of new cuttings into the greenhouse or the workroom. He follows Kuroo and Kai around, a constant stream of questions that Kenma tunes out. As much as he can tune out Hinata. His new co-worker is loud, always humming something, always dropping things. 

He manages to make so much noise everywhere he goes, makes Kenma want to hide beneath the counter, or stay perfectly still in hopes that Hinata doesn’t notice and direct the overwhelming force of his attention in the shy blonde’s direction. 

This is unavoidable, though, because for reasons unknown, Hinata  _ likes _ Kenma. 

“Kenma! I didn’t know you liked to sit out here!” 

Hinata appears out of nowhere, his smile wide and guileless. Lowering his Switch into his lap, Kenma glances around the small landscaped area on the shady side of the main building. It’s nothing more than a bench beneath a dogwood tree, a few pruned shrubs and some large decorative rocks. It serves no business function, he thinks, beyond being a place where families visiting during u-pick hours could rest for a moment. Kids probably like playing on the rocks. 

Kids, and Hinata, who currently balances on top of one, arms out, body at ease. 

Kenma shrugs. Glances at his game. He’s not the best at small talk. 

“It’s so nice out today!” Hinata makes a show of breathing in deep, puffing out his chest, except there is something so genuine about him that Kenma suspects this is not an act, but rather simply the way Hinata is. “The breeze really cools things off. I like days like this.” 

The weather, they are talking about the weather. Kenma can’t duck his chin fast enough to hide a cringe behind the fall of his hair. 

Of course, Hinata notices. “Oh, did you want me to leave you alone?” 

His candidness is startling, makes Kenma flush and his shoulders scrunch up. “Oh, uh — no?” 

“Cool. You can tell me if I ever am bothering you.” Hinata hops from rock to rock, arms out though he seems to have a natural athleticism. “My sister always tells me not to interrupt people. I guess I do that a lot.” 

There’s an undercurrent of dejection that Kenma immediately wants to correct. “It’s fine. I just don’t like talking about the weather. It feels so stilted and formal.” 

Hinata laughs, turns neatly on the ball of one foot and hops back in the same pattern. “Me neither! It’s so boring. You’re just hard to approach, I guess. You’re so smart and organized!” 

Kenma makes a noncommittal noise, trying not to stare as Hinata hops off the rocks and uses the edge of his t-shirt to clean sweat off his neck. Kenma feels weird, doesn’t usually stare at people, but he’s gay and Hinata is tan all over. He can only be so strong. 

Before the ginger can notice, Kenma unpauses his game, brings his Switch up to hide his face. Hopefully he can play while Hinata talks. That wouldn’t be too different from hanging out with Tora. He could manage that. 

Hinata plops down on the bench beside him. “Whatcha playing?” 

“Animal Crossing.” 

“Oh, neat!” Hinata says, kicking his legs out straight and toeing patterns into the dirt. He’s never completely still. “My roommate Yamaguchi loves that game. What are you working on? Can you do that thing where you knock cliffs down? You know, like,  _ bwooosh _ .” 

Kenma bites the inside of his lip. It’s cute, when Hinata talks with his hands. “Flower hybrids,” he says, angling his screen so Hinata can see his character running through grids of carefully planted flowers. He has almost all of them, except certain types of mum and pansy that are giving him trouble. 

“Uwah! You can breed flowers? Can you show me?” 

Hinata scoots closer, until there is less than an inch between their shoulders and thighs. At this distance it is impossible not to notice the flecks of gold in his eyes, or the freckles that dust his cheeks. It makes something warm and sticky unfurl in Kenma’s stomach. 

“Ah, sure.” 

He spends the next few minutes explaining the system, how you can make different colors appear, and so on. Hinata listens intently, occasionally pointing out combinations that he thinks might look nice together. It occurs to Kenma that maybe Hinata’s interest in flowers goes beyond watering and weeding them. 

When his Switch gives a low battery warning and he zips it back in its case, he asks. “Do you want to make your own arrangements, one day?”

“Kai-san says he’ll let me apprentice with him!” Hinata’s eyes gain a bright, hungry gleam. “Once I’m better at taking care of flowers. That was Kuroo’s rule. I have to know about flowers before I can make art with them.” 

“Like a video game,” Kenma points out, and when Hinata tilts his head quizzically, he continues, “you know, like earning experience and unlocking more advanced skills. Usually your character starts out at the bottom, at the lowest skill level, but as you practice you can unlock new skills and do new quests.” 

Hinata’s eyes go wide. He grins and shouts, “I love that!” The way Kenma reflexively leans away makes him wince apologetically. “Sorry. But I mean, that makes it sound so epic! Like...I’m gonna gain all the experience!” 

“Ah, well, good luck,” Kenma offers, pushing his hair behind his ear. He chews on his next question for a moment before he asks, “What kind of quest are you on?” 

Heroes were always on quests, right? But when did he start to think of Hinata as a hero? 

“Don’t make fun of me, okay?” Hinata narrows his eyes at Kenma and only proceeds when he seems convinced. “I’m training for the most epic romance ever.” 

Something in Kenma’s stomach flips. “Romance?” 

“It might sound silly,” Hinata concedes, scrubbing his hand through his hair. Kenma can’t count the number of cowlicks in his wild orange curls but thinking about it makes his fingers itch to try. “I just want to have lots of adventures! And my Obaa-san always said that the best adventures happen with the one you love most.” 

Hinata clenches his fist, grinning. “So when I find the right person, I want to bring them flowers! And grow them flowers! And go around the world and see lots of flowers with them! Because, uh, I’ve always thought flowers were romantic. And I’m going to be the best at romance.” 

A strong, heady breeze cuts through them, makes the dogwood rustle. Kenma thinks, in that moment, that Hinata is undoubtedly a hero, the kind of main character who attracts other characters and sways them with their ideals. Kenma has played a lot of games with compelling love stories but it isn’t until this moment that he begins to think of a life filled with adventure and love as something that he could have. 

He rubs the heel of his palm against his chest. It feels tight between his lungs; maybe his allergies are acting up. Standing up, he turns to pack up his lunch — a bento he only picked at — and his Switch. “I-I should head back inside.”

Hinata stands too, sees Kenma’s uneaten lunch and squawks. “I  _ did _ bother you, look! You hardly ate!” 

“I’m fine. I feel very refreshed.” 

That seems to catch Hinata off guard. He blinks at Kenma for a moment before a smile to rival the sun breaks out across his face. He shoves his orange curls back under his baseball cap and leads the way back inside. “Well, we should sit together more often, then!” 

Kenma’s smile is a small thing, but it’s there. “I would like that.” 

And that’s how it begins. 

Lunch hangouts with Hinata become a regular thing. Kenma learns that Hinata has a sharp memory, that he listens and observes more than he lets on. 

One day, a week later, he shows up to the dogwood bench with a fist full of purple irises. “I saw that you had a lot of purple flowers on your island and I know these aren’t a kind you can grow in your game but irises are very hypoallergenic so I thought you might like them better!” 

Kenma is flustered, by the gesture and by the onslaught of information, but he manages to accept the flowers without his hands shaking too badly. The fragrant blossoms sit carefully in his lap for his whole break. When he gets back inside, he puts them in a vase. Puts them by the register and holds them carefully between his knees the whole way home.

  
  


#

  
  


It gets so hot in Sendai over the summer. Especially with his west-facing bedroom window, but for once Kenma doesn’t keep the shades drawn shut. He puts the vase of irises on the windowsill. He thinks of Hinata, hard at work in the fields, seeing those flowers and thinking of Kenma. 

The thought is distracting. The rich purples are distracting. In his game, Ellie screams and dies violently on the end of a cultist’s machete. 

Kenma sighs. 

**kenma:** hey kuroo 

**kuroo:** yeeeeeeees my dearest kenma? 

**kenma:** when you like someone, how do you tell them? 

**kuroo:** OHOHOHOHOHO

**kenma:** pls don’t be yourself about this 

**kuroo:** if you don’t want me to be myself why did you ASK ME

**kenma:** kuroooooooo

**kuroo:** kenmaaaaaaaa. are u worried abt the sharing ur feelings part or the talking out loud part

**kenma:** let’s assume both 

**kuroo:** the solution is simple: flowers, kenma. why say with words what you can say in another language? 

**kenma:** which flowers? 

**kuroo:** depends on what u are trying to say! flowers have meanings. and different styles of arrangement say different things  
**kuroo:** fancy blooms might be a bit much if u are just confessing but some ppl are into that shit  
**kuroo:** only u know what ur trying to communicate  
**kuroo:** And WHOMST ur trying to communicate with AHEM wink wink 

**kenma:** hmmmmm

**kenma:** do flowers work on that barista you’re stalking? 

**kuroo:** absolutely not. tsukki hates them.   
**kuroo:** last time I brought him camillas and he tossed them straight into the trash bin 

**kenma:** harsh

**kuroo:** I know  
**kuroo:** it was so hot tho ~ <3 

**kenma:** pls stop  
**kenma:** maybe flowers aren’t his language

**kuroo:** wellllllll hopefully they are hinata’s ;))

**kenma:** bye 

**kuroo:** good luck, kenma :D 

Kenma shuts off his phone. Maybe if he is lucky, that barista will poison Kuroo’s coffee and he won’t remember having this conversation. Or, if he is luckier, the plan of action forming slowly in his mind won’t be a complete disaster, and if Kuroo brings it up, it will be fine, because Kenma doesn’t mind sharing good news. 

But first, the plan has to work. He has to decide what he is trying to say. 

  
  


#

The next morning, Kenma takes the earliest bus out past city limits. He walks from the stop in front of the gas station down the road to the familiar driveway leading to Black Cat Botanicals. It’s probably farther than he has ever elected to walk voluntarily, but the sun has barely risen, the air is damp and cool, and this is important. 

When he reaches the main building, he lingers near the mailbox until he finally spots Hinata — or rather, hears him singing — and watches his bright orange head disappear into the greenhouse. Kenma waits, counts to ten. Hinata doesn’t come back out. He deems the coast, cleared. 

Last night, after his chat with Kuroo, he tried researching the language of flowers and found no shortage of lists, guides, suggestions that all left him dissatisfied. Flower language is at once too complicated and too simple for Kenma’s needs. There is no flower that says ‘I think you’re interesting and I like it when you sit close to me’, and even if there was, what if it didn’t look right? As much as it scares Kenma, he knows he can’t logic his way through this puzzle. He has to rely on his heart.

With one last fortifying huff of nasal spray, Kenma walks the fields. 

There are dozens upon dozens of blooms in so many shapes and colors. He likes the orange and yellow lilies, the complexity of dahlias, the explosiveness of gladiola, but they are all too delicate. Hinata is bold, warm, cheerful, indomitable, and this flower needs to capture that. Kenma frowns a little, itches his nose. He passes behind a storage shed and suddenly, the answer is there. 

Sunflowers. 

There are rows and rows of sunflowers, supported with bamboo stakes, in bright yellows and orange-reds and ghostly whites. Some the size of baseballs and some the size of dinner plates. Kenma fixates on the large, golden yellow ones — each of them a sun in their own right. That is Hinata. 

Kenma blows his nose and steps into the rows, before he can lose his nerve. Immediately, it’s a bad idea. The smell is overwhelming, there are huge leaves in his face, the nodding heads of the giant sunflowers suddenly colossal from this angle. He shields his face with one arm and crouches down to examine the plant stalk. He didn’t think to grab any kind of cutting tool. He wonders if he should go back for one and risk running into Kai or Kuroo or Hinata, or if he should just call upon some previously untapped reserve of strength and yank the entire plant out of the ground like Excalibur from the enchanted lake — 

“Kenma? Whatcha doing?” 

Kenma shoots up so quickly the subsequent bloodrush makes him stumble. 

Sturdy hands grab his arms to steady him, helping him step out of the flower bed and back onto the gravel path. Hinata looks concerned as he absently brushes a piece of grass off Kenma’s sweater and Kenma is so immediately  _ fond _ . There are buttery yellow petals stuck in Hinata’s hair that make his eyes look extra golden. The rush of satisfaction Kenma feels, seeing Hinata against the backdrop of sunflowers — yes. He was right about this. He could be right about other things too. 

“You make me think of sunflowers,” he says, meeting Hinata’s gaze with his own soft look. “I was going to, ah, bring you one.” 

For once, Hinata is quiet. 

He studies Kenma, keeps his hands on his shoulders and looks. Kenma is positive he looks awful: his leggings are dew-damp, his boots are covered in grass clippings. His nose is probably red, his septum piercing irritated, his lips bitten raw. But Hinata isn’t disgusted, just...thoughtful. Surprised. Slowly, Kenma smiles, and slowly, Hinata smiles back. 

“You wanted to give me flowers?” he asks hesitantly, though when Kenma nods his smile gets even wider, his confidence growing with it. “That’s a pretty scary quest, Kenma.” 

Those hands squeeze his shoulders. Kenma steps a little closer. “Sometimes you have to try a scary quest, even if you are low level.” He blushes and reaches out, picks a few petals out of Hinata’s hair. His chest feels tight again, but he breathes through it. “Sometimes the reward is worth the risk.” 

Hinata smiles, smiles, practically vibrates off the ground. He cups Kenma’s hands in his own. “Go out with me. We can level up together.” 

They are so close together, and drifting closer. Kenma’s smiling too, so wide his cheeks hurt, and he leans forward to shyly press a small, dry kiss on his sunflower’s cheek.

“Sounds perfect...Shouyou.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  


**Author's Note:**

> sniffly kenma and flower boy hinata bring me so...so much joy :')
> 
> thank you for reading! comments and kudos are loved. this author responds to comments! 
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/greenywrites)  
> 


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